Newsletter

Gun proposals: Unhappy hour

GEORGIA LAWMAKERS shouldn’t go off half-cocked on a proposal to make it legal for people to legally carry concealed weapons in more places.

While Americans are guaranteed the right to bear arms under the Second Amendment, lawmakers have an obligation to maintain public safety and respect property rights. When there’s an apparent conflict, legislators shouldn’t pull the trigger until they know what they’re shooting at.

In this case, State Rep. Sean Jerguson, R-Woodstock, has introduced a measure (House Bill 981) that would banish many of the current restrictions on where Georgians can legally carry concealed weapons. Those places include public schools, college campuses, bars, polling places, churches, the state Capitol and most government buildings (exceptions include jails and courtrooms).

The bill also would prevent police or the National Guard from disarming people during states of emergency, and it would allow citizens to sue if an officer or guardsman took someone’s weapon.

Mr. Jerguson’s bill may be true to the spirit of the Second Amendment. However, it deserves to fail.

Educators oppose the idea, fearing that more guns on school grounds and college campuses could lead to deadly consequences, not better safety. Since the public gives them the responsibility for keeping students, faculty and visitors safe on school property, they should have the final word.

For example, the University System of Georgia prohibits people from carrying guns on campuses or students from keeping them in their dorm rooms. But they can keep them in locked vehicles. That seems rational — campuses have security officers, but students may be driving to and from unsafe neighborhoods.

It’s true that the Georgia Tech campus in urban Atlanta has been troubled by a rash of street robberies. Some students want to legally carry weapons to protect themselves — an urge that’s understandable.

Young Georgians who grew up with guns and who received proper training probably know about safety. But there’s a difference between toting a hunting rifle to shoot deer in south Georgia and carrying a handgun in a purse or under a jacket to ward off street thugs in a big city. There’s a maturity factor here. That’s why only people older than 21 can get a concealed carry permit.

It’s tough to envision a situation when police or the National Guard would disarm law-abiding citizens. That part of the bill doesn’t add up.

Mr. Jerguson correctly points out that a 2008 law that allowed patrons to carry concealed weapons into restaurants where alcohol is served has not turned such establishments into “the Wild West.” But diners generally don’t frequent such places to get a snoot full. They go to eat.

Again, Americans have the right to bear arms, especially on their own property.

But it’s tough to see how public safety would be improved if more Georgians had pistols under their coats while knocking back their beers and mixed drinks. If anything, it creates the potential for more unhappy hours.